4 Meters and Introdutions: Kreskor Hara

[Morgan Evanar]

The storm clouds were slowly drifiting out of the night sky twoard the northern horizon, and the larger of Arcan IV's two moons peaked through. A pair of two meter figures departed GJO's recruitment center, and headed two buildings down to the Bar&Grill, a very large, multileved establishment with more colorful characters than you can shake a womp rat at. At the door, there was a driod behind a counter.

"Please beings, remove your weapons. You may retrieve it when you depart."

Morgan held out a data card, the droid inserted it into a slot, and then handed the card back.

"Have a good evening."

They found a quiet booth, twoard the middle of the room. Morgan took off his helmut as he sat, and ran a large gloved hand with longer fingers through his hair.

A small serving driod wheeled up. to the table, and twitered a query.

"I'd like a pitcher of water. Hara?"

[Kreskor Hara]

"This one will have a bottle of Whyrenz Reserve..." Kreskor smiled at the droid, which quickly spun and twittered away to fulfill their orders. The Barabel had little love for droids who did not speak basic, but it was not something to be angry about. His parent had once told him that nothing was perfect, except for the life force.

For once in his life, the Barabel felt completely naked without his gun at his side. He hadn't known how accustomed he'd grown to the firearm, but it had certainly become a part of him. Although he did not fear for his own safety. This human, Morgan Evaner of Many Places was a Jedi Knight, a protector of peace. Kreskor's people held high respects for the Jedi Knights, the Barabel hoped he could return to Barab I as a Jedi Knight one day. The mere thought of that made the Barabel happy.

"So this iz Yoghurtz Bar and Grill?" Kreskor asked, turning back to Morgan. "It iz impressive, but this one would expect no less from the Jedi."

The droid came back with their drinks on a platter atop it's metallic dome. It's metal extender reached out and handed Morgan his pitcher of water, careful not to drop any of it. It set the rest of the platter on the table, and began to roll away after chirping some words. Kreskor could not understand what the droid was saying, but it was of little consequence. He was rather excited to taste the exported boose he had heard so much about. None of the bars on Nar Shaddaa barely ever received a shipment of the Corellian vintage boose. Kreskor popped open the bottle and poured himself a shot. His long tongue snaked out of his sharp toothed mouth and touched the tip of the red substance.

"Sssssss." The Barabel hissed, savouring the taste. It didn't take a space mechanic to know that Kreskor liked the boose. He noticed Morgan simply had a pitcher of water, and wondered why. Water was not an alcohol, and didn't compare in taste to any boose. The Barabel surmised that Morgan must have been a light drinker.

"This one haz traveled past many starz to get here. This one haz high hopes of becoming a Jedi Knight sssomeday." The Barabel poured himself another shot and drank it quickly. His black scaled face did not flinch from the taste that would make some humans vomit. He stood there contently, basking in the sights and sounds of the bar. "This place iz strong in the Force. This one can feel it."

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan smiled. He had heard other Padawans say that the Force was strong in the Bar&Grill, but he himself couldn't tell unless he tried. Some aspects of the Force simply refused to cooperate for the most part, and others were stubborn. He practiced it, and when he didn't get satisfactory results, he accepted it as part of life and worked harder. Still, not everyone had the same strengths in the Force, and fewer still had the same as Morgan's.

"It is, but there are some places that can be nearly disorienting who touch the Force more easily than me." he said as he removed his gloves, revealing three 9 centimeter claws on folded flat against the back of each hand, bone white. Hara either didn't notice, didn't care, or wasn't overly curious. Probably the first, considering how intently he was watching the rest of the Bar&Grill.

He poured himself a glass of water, and sipped it. Mmmmm. it was absolutely satisfying after a day of sweating in vents, sneaking around and showing others how to do the same. But the drink lacked lemon. Morgan grabbed the lemon, positioned it on the tray, and then made a fist. This brought his middle claw into position, and he sliced it, and quickly squeezed it into his drink, leaving the peel floating about at the top. He took a deep swallow of the mix, considering his next words.

"A Jedi Knight? A noble goal, but why?" Morgan figured the question was a bit unfair, considering he still wasn't sure how or why he became one.

Maybe Kreskor would know why "This one" had come all the way to Arcan IV.

[Kreskor Hara]

Morgan has clawz? That is interesting for a human. The Barabel thought as he discarded the glass and began to drink out of the bottle of boose. The liquid stung all the way down his digestive track, and that was what made it Kreskor's favourite drink. Fortunately, Barabels did not get drunk as easily as humans did, so it would be long before Kreskor experienced the drawback of the alcohol he had so heartily consumed.

Kreskor drew his eyes away from Morgan's hands. A bar fight on the other side of the room had caught his attention. Before he could get a good glimpse of the combatants, a pair of Jedi were already stopping the fight. If there was one rule that Kreskor had ever learned on Nar Shaddaa, Barab I, or the other planets he had visited for a short time, it was never to interfere with a fight. The individuals that were involved in the fight both had an idea what they were getting into from the start. If they could not defeat their opponents on their own, it was their fault. Kreskor Hara knew when he had lost a fight, and did everything he could to keep alive, as had his brother. Unfortunately, it did not work for the other Hara brother...

"A Jedi Knight? A noble goal, but why?" Morgan asked Kreskor, luring him out of his awe-struck expression. The Barabel used a few seconds to sound out the correct words in his head. He knew that this answer would put an impression on Morgan to how devoted Kreskor was. The Barabel narrowed his beady eyes into slits and hissed openly.

"It was this one'z parent who prompted me to join." Kreskor stated confidently. "This one did not refuse, because there was no point in doing so. After Jesk died, this one was consumed with determination to prevent such from happening to otherz."

The Barabel toned down his drinking to slight sipping after consuming half of the bottle. He'd noticed from the corner of his eye a human in simple garb, most likely a spacer, observed him in hidden disgust. Kreskor shifted his eyes to the side to get a good glimpse at the man, and smiled to himself. He was used to the reaction from some people who were xenophobic. Barabels weren't the prettiest of beings in the Galaxy by human standards.

"Thisss one does not regret coming here, and will do whatever it takez to become a Jedi." Kreskor nodded confidentely and set the bottle down on the table. "Will you train this one?"

His hissing between words stopped as he awaited an answer in silence. Perhaps he'd asked the Jedi Knight too abruptly? Something inside of Kreskor urged him to ask that, but he could not tell what that something was...

[Morgan Evanar]

Morgan forced a frown away from his face, but his eyes did drop to the table. His record with Padawans was dismal. Jeseth Cloak could easily be considered a spectactular failure on Morgan's part, but it was debateable how bent toward the Dark Side one was naturally, partictuarlly in the case of Cloak. Failure still left a bad taste in Morgan's mouth though, and he was always hesitant to accept a Padawan before that.

"I'm willing," he stated with a small measure of hesitance, "but I'm not the best teacher. In fact, I'm probably a very bad teacher."

If Kreskor decided to find another Knight or Master to instruct him in the ways of the force, Morgan wouldn't have be surprised at at all, nor would he be dissapointed. And if he accepted, both parties would do some interesting learning.

[Kreskor Hara]

"This one senses doubt inside of you." The Barabel had no problem when openly admitting what was on his mind. Morgan's doubt did not bother him, but brought up the curiousity of a bad past. Kreskor had a bad past as well, but Morgan's seemed thoroughly different. The Barabel did not have the skills to delve into the depths of Morgan Evaner, nor would he want to. This human had the right to his privacy and Kreskor did not want to be the one who violated that privacy. Perhaps one day Morgan would explain to him why he thought so lowly of himself when instructing others in the Jedi arts.

A smile blossomed on Kreskor's face a few moments later, replacing the grim atmosphere with ease. He reached over and clasped Morgan on the shoulder, shaking him hardly yet friendly. One could be reminded of a Wookiee's natural way of greeting someone. Kreskor grabbed at the empty glass and poured a shot of the boose in it. The liquid shook slightly as he raised the glass above the table.

"This one feelz you are strong, do not doubt your own ability to instruct otherz." Kreskor thought back to a time when he had doubted his own ability in the hunt. His prey had always succeeded in getting away when he did not believe in himself. His hatchmate made these numerous occurances evident to the Barabel, causing Kreskor to work on his self esteem. His parent had often told him to trust his instincts, and he did. Kreskor avoided the things that made him feel uneasy, and he found that they helped him survive. It was unfortunate his hatchmate could not feel the Force around him like Kreskor could...

Kreskor reached atop his head and pulled the rebellious crimson bandana off. He clasped it in his hands tightly, as though he were trying to crush it. The Barabel used his other hand to tug at the ancient blaster in his holster. He pulled it out and held it in his other hand. Here he held the two most important items of his life. His bandana had been given to him by his hatchmate, and his blaster was a part of him. He felt pain in having to give these two items up, but he knew he would have them back. Kreskor did not like the idea of wielding a blaster during training, perhaps after but not during. He would rather learn how to use the Force then a weapon of energy.

The Barabel set these two items down on the table and let go of them. He crossed both arms and smiled again at the Jedi Knight across the table.

"This one is ready when you are, Morgan Evaner."